A Mercenary's War

Chapter 8

Truth to be told, Gao Yang was very anxious. Because they were in a remote and desolate area of Africa, there was a high probability that any black people they encounter would be dangerous.

Thinking back to that gunfight three years ago, Gao Yang felt the same fear crawl around in his heart as he was face to face with this unknown armed group. It was most likely that they were poachers, but Gao Yang wanted to make sure. He decided that if these people looked like common civilians who posed no danger, he would ask for help. If they looked dangerous, he would quietly make his exit.

Gao Yang had been dreaming of meeting civilized people for a long time. But now that a sign of civilization had appeared, Gao Yang was actually feeling nervous. After hearing the chief talk about the cruel massacre that those unknown people had inflicted upon the tribe, Gao Yang could only pray that the people he would meet were actually civilized, and not a product of the so called “civilization” that tainted the edges of the African wilderness.

After running around for three to four hours, Gao Yang was finally starting to run out of breath. He slowed down to a steady walk. Ku’Sto suddenly stopped and ran back towards Gao Yang.

“White kid, there’s a lot of people here and a lot of strange things.”

Ku’Sto was thrilled because he had discovered the fleet of cars. When Gao Yang heard his words, he became even more excited.

Gao Yang used his last breath to run forward. He soon saw four vehicles parked in the middle of the road. Three of them were off road vehicles while the other was a medium-sized truck. In the back of the truck, there seemed to be several large tents, but no matter where Gao Yang looked, he didn’t see any people.

After taking a couple of glances, Gao Yang decided to venture further. He pulled on Ku’Sto to crouch behind the bushes. He sternly said, “Listen Ku’Sto, if you hear gunshots, which are very loud sounds, or hear me telling you to run, then run straight back. Take Ba’al and the chief back home. If you hear me yelling your name, then come over and find me. You got that?”

“I got it. If I hear a gunshot or if I hear you telling me to run, then I’ll go and save you. If you die, then I’ll run.”

Although Ku’Sto came from a primitive tribe, that was no representation of his intelligence.

Gao Yang patted his shoulder and picked up the bow and arrow. He slowly approached the fleet with his arrows nocked.

Step by step, he got closer. When he was around two hundred meters away, Gao Yang saw some figures come and go through the gaps between the cars, but he couldn’t distinguish their clothing.

Gao Yang walked along the perimeter until he found a good vantage spot where the trucks wouldn’t obstruct his view. Gao Yang observed the five large tents that made up the encampment. At the center of the camp, there was a canopy, and under it were two large tables. Gao Yang saw fifteen to sixteen black men who were gathered in a circle.

Their clothing made Gao Yang relax slightly. While two were wearing camouflage, most of them were wearing normal civilian clothing. Also, Gao Yang only saw guns on two of the people. While he couldn’t see much, Gao Yang could tell that one of them was an AK-47, which was the most common type of gun in Africa. The other seemed like a double-barreled rifle.

His luck was great! The group didn’t look like a troop of soldiers or poachers. He felt that he could approach them. At that moment, the group suddenly separated. When they separated, Gao Yang saw something that made him even more giddy.

There were four white men who were shaded by the tent above their heads. One of them was carrying a large camera, making Gao Yang relax.

“Hello everyone! Help me! I need help!”

Gao Yang shouted from his hiding spot in the grass. He ran as he waved to the white people excitedly. Not only could he get help for Big Ba’al and the chief, he finally found a chance to return home.

When the white men saw Gao Yang shouting and waving to them, the black men jumped in surprise and immediately aimed their guns at Gao Yang. Gao Yang suddenly realized that not two, but all five of them had guns.

Gao Yang was already fairly close to the white men, but when he saw the guns aimed at him, he immediately halted and raised both hands. Right then, Gao Yang heard an alarmed cry.

“Don’t shoot. Put down your weapons, don’t shoot! Ask what he wants first. D*mmit, just put down your guns. You’ll scare him. Everyone else, retreat. Do not scare him. Daniel, did you get that shot?”

When the order to retreat was given, the black men all backed off. All that was left was a group of white men who were grinning at him. Gao Yang ran over to the white man and before he could even say hello, he heard the female shout, “Dear heavens! What is that I see? He’s wearing shoes!”

“Don’t say anything. Now you’re just making a fuss about nothing. Don’t scare him, and don’t provoke him. Heavens, are you all idiots?”

It was then that Gao Yang realized his mistake. He had already been speaking the A’Kuli language for three years, and when he ran out, he said things that could only be understood by no one else but the A’Kuli.

“Hello sir, please help me…”

Before he even finished speaking, Gao Yang stopped himself again. This time, he had spoken in Chinese.

He lightly slapped his jaw. Just as he was about to use English, he noticed that the white man in front of him, whose head was full of white hair, also lightly slapped his jaw. He then smiled and said, “Take a picture of him doing that. That must be some kind of gesture to show his goodwill.”

Pa pa pa pa. All of the people standing in front of Gao Yang slapped their jaws. There were two who had slapped pretty hard too.

Gao Yang found the situation to be completely hilarious. He finally thought of the English words to use and said, “Hello sir, I’m extremely happy to see you. I need your help. We have some people who are dying and I need you to help us.”

Although it had been a few years since he last spoke it, Gao Yang’s English was still somewhat fluent. The old man standing before Gao Yang gawked. He then stuttered out, “What? Tell me, what’s going on right now?”

Three years ago, Gao Yang had arrived in Africa right in the middle of the rainy season. Thus, all of his clothing came from the village, except for his pants which dried extremely fast. The clothes he was currently wearing dried quickly and was very cool, making it perfect for the climate. Even after three years of wear and tear, it was still in good condition.

In other words, Gao Yang was wearing a pair of size six army shoes, a grass cape, and was covered from head to toe in red and white clay drawings. Other than that, Gao Yang was extremely tanned after three years of being constantly under the sun. Gao Yang had also recently cut his hair with a blade, making it extremely short and uneven. Besides the yellow tint of his skin, there wasn’t much difference between Gao Yang and the A’Kuli. The greatest difference was still the shoes that Gao Yang had on his feet.

Hence, it was no surprise that the group would be shocked to see a man from the A’Kuli speaking to them in fluent English.

The old man in front of Gao Yang looked like he almost peed himself in shock. He didn’t react for several minutes and all he could do was gape at Gao Yang. The young woman walked out from behind the old man and stood before Gao Yang.

“Professor, it’s clear that he is asking for help. We can talk about the rest later. Right now, we should find out what kind of help he is asking for.”

It was like the old man had been awakened from a dream. He smiled at Gao Yang and anxiously said, “I’m sorry, I was a bit overwhelmed there. Ah, let’s talk about important matters first. Please, tell us what exactly happened.”

“One of our tribesmen was injured. His neck was bitten by a leopard resulting in two large gashes about half an inch deep. None of his arteries were damaged, but the situation is not great. Besides surgery, he most likely needs a blood transfusion. Also, he was scratched by the leopard, so we’ll need antibiotics. Sir, he took those injuries about three to four hours ago. I’m afraid he doesn’t have much time left. Please help us sir.”

“Where is the patient?”

Gao Yang pointed in the direction he came from: “He’s over there, probably around twenty kilometers away. It took me three to four hours to run here.”

The old man immediately turned around and shouted, “Everyone listen up! Ivan, take your first aid kit. Do we have anything that can transfuse blood? If so, take that as well. Danny, bring your little camera. We’ll take the car, let’s go!”

The girl standing by him quickly cut in, “Professor, I’ll go too. Plus, at the very least we should bring two of the bodyguards. It’s not safe here.”

After saying that, the girl smiled at Gao Yang. With an apologetic glance she said, “I’m sorry, but we must bring guns. Please understand that it is not for you or your tribe. This is Africa and there are many dangerous beasts. We need them for protection.”

Gao Yang nodded, and then explained to the two in front of him: “That’s fine, I understand. Thank you for offering your help. Thank you.”

“Let’s set out first. We can talk afterwards. Gentlemen, we must hurry. Prepare everything we need to set out.”

When the old man was done talking, he also quickly began to pack up. All of the people grabbed packs of supplies and put them on the two cars. Within a few minutes, everything was set. The old man then waved to Gao Yang and said, “Get on the car. You’ll direct us and we’ll set out.”

There was a total of seven people: four white men and three black men. They drove the car with Gao Yang’s help. When the car left the camp, Gao Yang told them to stop. He yelled out to Ku’Sto and told him to sit on the back of the truck and then the two cars accelerated out into the forest.